page_title: Atlanta Falcons
section_title: 1989–1996
hierarchical_section_title: Atlanta Falcons / Franchise history / 1989–1996
caption_attribution_description: English: The Atlanta Falcons offensive unit in a huddle between downs during a December 8, 1991 road game against the Los Angeles Rams at Anaheim Stadium. This photograph was taken using an unspecified 35mm camera and scanned using a Canon CanoScan LiDE 60 scanner
context_page_description: The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League.
  In their 54 years of existence, the Falcons have compiled a record of 375–475–6, winning division championships in 1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2016. The Falcons have appeared in two Super Bowls, the first during the 1998 season in Super Bowl XXXIII, where they lost to the Denver Broncos 34–19, and the second was 18 years later, a 34–28 overtime loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
  The Falcons' current home field is Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened for the 2017 season; the team's headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, northeast of Atlanta in Hall County.
context_section_description: In the 1989 NFL Draft, the Falcons selected cornerback Deion Sanders in the first round, who helped them for the next four years, setting many records for the franchise. "Neon Deion" (a.k.a. "Prime Time") had a flashy appeal and helped bring media attention to one of the league's most anonymous franchises. Sanders was also famous for playing on major league baseball teams (New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves) while simultaneously playing in the NFL.
  After defeating the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card game, the Falcons' 1991 season ended in a divisional playoff loss to the Washington Redskins. In the 1991 NFL Draft, the Falcons selected quarterback Brett Favre as the 33rd overall pick. During his rookie season, he played in two games where he amassed a record of four passing attempts with no receptions and two interceptions. The following February, Favre was traded to the Green Bay Packers.
  In 1992, the Atlanta Falcons opened a new chapter in their history moving into the newly constructed Georgia Dome, where the team has defeated all 31 other NFL teams at least once during its time there.
caption: The Falcons playing against the Los Angeles Rams during a 1991 away game.
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